His dad Mike Robbins, worked as a holiday camp compere, a singer, manager of the Golden Garter cabaret club in Wythenshawe, Manchester, a pub landlord, a production line worker at Vauxhall, shopkeeper and even, briefly, a professional trampolinist.
One of Ted's first jobs in entertainment was as compere for a performing dolphin show in Porthcawl, run by his dad. He tried his hand at nursing, teaching, worked as a Butlins Redcoat in Blackpool, starred in a risque stage show with 1970s sex symbol Fiona Richmond, but eventually carved out a name for himself in TV land as the nation's best warm-up man. He would put audiences at their ease for entertainers like Victoria Wood, Des O’Connor, Cilla Black, and for shows such as 'Birds of a Feather' and many more. Even TV shows such as 'Mastermind' sought Ted’s golden patter to keep the crowd happy and he served as the voice-over for Roy Walker’s 'Catchphrase' until the end of the 1990s. His acting roles began when he played an uncredited part as a shot putter in the movie 'Chariots of Fire' (1981) and later in the TV mini series 'This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper' in which he played a chauffeur. Then a crucial figure came into Ted’s life through a chance meeting. He recounts the meeting; "I was coming up from London on the train and I had my butty and my newspaper and I just wanted to nestle into a crook of the train and half doze. This plump lad blocked my way and said: 'You’re Ted Robbins, aren’t you?.’" The chatty stranger knew everything about Ted’s career. "He kept talking to me across the aisle and towards the end, he said: 'Channel 4 have given me a show. Do you want to be in it?'”. The stranger was, of course, Peter Kay and Ted took a role in the spoof documentary series 'That Peter Kay Thing', and then played the villain Den Perry in the hugely successful 'Phoenix Nights'. "That changed things for me so much." says Ted. "I’ve worked with two geniuses in my time. I think Peter’s a genius, and Victoria Wood was a genius. Victoria was so kind to me." Ted performed to a live studio audience for Granada Television's TV show 'Wood and Walters'.
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| Den Perry in Phoenix Nights |
He then alternated between comic and serious roles making appearances in 'Heartbeat' (2004), 'Grease Monkeys' (2004) and 2 episodes in Emmerdale farm (2005) as John Swords who is trying to sell the Dingle family a timeshare, ending up with him and Zak Dingle at loggerheads and Lisa Dingle horrified to learn that she has been conned. The Jimmy McGovern series 'The Street' (2007-09) saw him in 2 episodes as Ken Jones but it was a return to comedy with presenters Dick and Dom that provided him with a lengthy role in a British children's comedy series on CBBC, 'Diddy Movies' (2012-14) as the duo's manager Larry Weinsteinburger. Appearing as different characters in 5 episodes of 'Doctors' (2002-15), and in 78 episodes of 'The Slammer' (2006-15), as the Governor, he also over that time period had several roles in 'Coronation Steet' (2000-16), firstly as a club DJ where the Underworld factory girls took bride-to-be Linda Sykes on her hen night in September 2000, then as Officer McAlister, a guard at Highfield Prison where John Stape was incarcerated in 2009. Finally, from October 2015 to January 2016, he was Brendan Finch, the editor of The Inexpicable publication who Mary finds attractive.
Whilst appearing in 'Mount Pleasant' ( 2011-17), it was in January 2015 that Ted went out before a packed Manchester Arena in a stage production of Peter Kay’s 'Phoenix Nights' and promptly sank to the floor having a cardiac arrest. He had suffered with rheumatic fever as a child, which affected a heart valve and was due to have a routine heart operation in the next three weeks. But for the efforts of a doctor and paramedic who leapt forth and broke a dozen of his ribs bashing his heart back into life, this could have been Ted’s own Tommy Cooper moment. After three months recuperating he was able to return to filming for the fifth series of 'Mount Pleasant', playing Uncle Terry, brother of fellow funnyman Bobby Ball’s character Barry. His recovery wasn't all plain sailing as he has revealed he went into a very dark place and was getting anxious, depressed, but afterwards is feeling slimmer and fitter than ever.
One of his sisters is actor, comedian and singer Kate Robbins and they are first cousins once removed of Sir Paul McCartney.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/02/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-joe.html
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